Knowingly presenting false information to the authorities is a serious crime, one punishable by fines, jail time, or even worse. Fraudulent reports may even rise to the level of a felony in some cases. Human beings have lived under some type of legal code for more than 5, years. Formal courts of law first began to appear in the days of ancient Egypt during the reign of the pharaohs.
This is why so much of our modern legal vocabulary includes Latin phrases and terms. Most societies base their legal systems on a common set of underlying principles. These include:. This last point is the reason why lying on a police report can get you in serious trouble. Honesty is always the best policy, especially where the cops are concerned. A police report is one key to getting the compensation you deserve. The stress of surviving a serious trauma can make it difficult to recall crucial details or even to form coherent statements.
The purpose of a police report is to have a record of each specific event to refer to when referencing the incident, such as during a legal case. The public regularly file police reports of crimes committed, as they provide information relevant to ongoing police investigations. However, if a person knowingly provides misinformation to the police when filing a report, then they could be found guilty of filing a false police report and other related offenses.
The individual that files a false report could be charged whether they affirmatively make a false statement, or if they deliberately withhold information that is material to a criminal investigation. Filing a false report to mislead the police could be considered to be obstruction of justice , as they waste police time, money, and resources.
The law places the burden of proof on the prosecution to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the person who made the false police report satisfies the elements of the crime with which they are being charged. This is further discussed in the following section. The intent to provide false information is what will separate a false police report from a report that was filed due to a mistake of fact. Simply making a mistake when providing information does not result in a false police report.
The prosecution will need to prove that the person who filed the false police report meets the specific elements of the crime of filing a false police report. These specific elements of the crime can vary from state to state and are subject to the laws of each jurisdiction. In general, a person can assume that they will be convicted if the prosecution is successful in proving that they knowingly or deliberately made a false police report in response to a legitimate criminal inquiry.
It is important to note that the most important element of this crime is the intent when making the statement to the law enforcement officer. An example of this would be if the police respond to a call from a person claiming that their spouse hit them, when the spouse did not.
The person who made the false claim may be charged with making a false report to the police, and could confirm their intent to lie to the police by filing a false report about the alleged abusive incident.
Again, the person who filed the false report may not have intended to provide false information. Their memory could have been unclear when they provided information, or they themselves may have been given false information. Once again, in order to be found guilty of filing a false police report, the defendant must have known or had reason to believe that the report was false. There are both federal and state laws that govern filing a false police report.
Again, each individual jurisdiction will determine whether the charge will be a misdemeanor, or a felony. If charged with a misdemeanor, then the defendant could face fines as well as up to one year spent in jail.
If charged with a felony under state or local law, the defendant could face jail time exceeding one year. At the federal level, a person could also be charged filing a false report of terrorism. This includes both making a threat, such as calling in a false bomb threat, and accusing someone else of making a threat of terrorism.
The most severe punishments are generally reserved for those who make a false claim of terrorism, which could include being sentenced to a federal facility for up to twenty years. The information provided on this site is not legal advice, does not constitute a lawyer referral service, and no attorney-client or confidential relationship is or will be formed by use of the site. The attorney listings on this site are paid attorney advertising. In some states, the information on this website may be considered a lawyer referral service.
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Market Your Law Firm. Lawyer Directory. Call us at 1 You may be guilty of one or more of several crimes. Making False Statements In many jurisdictions, it's a crime to make false or misleading statements to the police or public officials. Obstruction of Justice Lying to the police about a friend's crime can also lead to charges of obstruction of justice, also known as obstructing a law-enforcement officer. Accessory After the Fact You might also face a charge of being an accessory after the fact if you lied to the police about your friend's crime.
Perjury Perjury involves making false statements while under oath or affirmation. Consult With an Attorney If you have lied to, misled, or otherwise interfered with the authorities, or have been charged with a crime relating to such conduct, you need to speak to a criminal defense attorney right away.
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